Kathmandu : First President Dr Ram Baran Yadav has said journalists should abide by professional morality and integrity to keep the profession’s dignity and prestige intact.

In his address to an interaction programme on “How it is convenient to be a journalist?” organised by the Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ) Corporate Province on the occasion of its leadership handover to a newly elected committee here today, the former President said professional journalism is the tool to strengthen democracy.     

He advised journalists not to deviate from their ‘religion’ (duties and responsibility). He also urged people from other sectors including medicine, judiciary and politics to fulfil the given duties and responsibilities and contribute to the greater interests of society.     

“Nowadays, we see the degradation of integrity and in this situation, journalists have their own roles and responsibilities,” he said, urging them not to deviate from their professional duties.

Stating that we have a Constitution of an inclusive nature in the federal democratic system, he said and expressed his regret ‘to hear in his 80’s that democracy is in a threat’. He also expressed his concern over the degradation of democracy lately.     

Dr Minendra Rijal advised the FNJ to dedicate time for promoting professional and responsible journalism.     

Meantime, he added that the incumbent government formed with an alliance of two major political parties: the Nepali Congress and the CPN (UML) should function successfully as per the spirit of the seven-point agreement. He also pointed out the need to proceed towards the constitution amendment process with the consensus of all political parties.     

CPN (Maoist Centre) Deputy General Secretary Janardan Sharma said journalism is a tool to promote the freedom of expression, to educate citizens and warn the State of any possible wrongdoings, hence it should be practised accordingly, keeping its significance and prestige high.     

In a democracy, journalism is a continuous movement and it is the lifeline of democracy, he added.     

Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ) newly elected Chair Nirmala Sharma pledged to work for the enhancement of freedom of the press and the freedom of expression and for improving the rights of working journalists. The first female to be elected as the Chair of FNJ, the umbrella organisation of journalists in its seven-decade-long history, vowed to amplify the voices of professional issues of journalists.     

As she said, lately she realised that access to news sources has gotten shrunken and to address this gap, the government and political parties are warranted to keep the information flow system fast and accessible.     

FNJ erstwhile Chair Bipul Pokhrel lauded the roles of FNJ Corporate Province in amplifying the voices of working journalists, urging the new leadership to own up to the genuine agenda of the previous FNJ central committee.     

Nepal Press Union President Shiva Lamsal said the recent election of the FNJ indicated that the FNJ is an organisation of common character, advising the new executive committee to focus on revising the public trust in journalism.     

Journalist, writer and Madan prize winner Mohan Mainali stressed the need to keep the entire information ecosystem healthy and to prevent the flow of fake information through the means of journalism.     

Corporate Province outgoing Chair Balkrishna Adhikari said his team did its best to address the concerns of working journalists and strengthen the organization in its terms of around three and half years.     

On the occasion, the first President honoured FNJ’s newly elected Chair on behalf of the Corporate Province.     

 The Corporate Province today handed the leadership to a new executive committee that was elected unopposed on December 13.     

It includes Ramesh Wagle ( Chair), Benju Subedi ( Vice Chair), Pabitra Guragain ( Vice Chair-Woman), Ramchandra Aryal ( General Secretary), Arkat Ali Miya (Secretary), Ramesh Tamata( Secretary-Inclusive), and Tulasimaya Sapkota (treasurer).     

Anant Chalse, Bhimnidhi Adhikari, Rajaram Bohora (Raju), Rajendra Pokhrel, Samberg Basnet, Harikrishna Neupane, Nunuta Rai, Laxmi Adhikari, Sushila Basnet, Ishwor Bahadur Bishwakarma, Prem Kumar Shrestha, Rabindra Barahi, and Kismat Ali Sheikh are the members on the new committee.